


Eighteen Scholars

by Honey_Rage



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Autistic Link (Legend of Zelda), Enemies to Friends, How Do I Tag, LGBTQ Character, Link (Legend of Zelda) is a Dork, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Calamity Ganon, Selectively Mute Link (Legend of Zelda)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:53:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28325637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Honey_Rage/pseuds/Honey_Rage
Summary: Link and Ghirahim always felt like they'd be friends under different circumstances to me. So I'm writing an entire fanfiction about it.
Relationships: Link/Prince Sidon
Kudos: 17





	1. Moribund

His mind wandered back to events from a few days prior, his breath swirling in the chilled air. The now queen, Zelda had been informed of the newest energy sources; All from the Gerudo Desert. 

Strange energy spots of various power levels had been appearing all over the map, ever since the defeat of The Great Calamity some months ago. Whispered theories floated amongst the various regions, all wondering why they appeared so suddenly. Some chalked it up to the oppressive den of iniquity, now lifting from the land, allowing the smaller things to be noticed. With the larger, darker energy gone there was room for other things, good or bad, to breathe once more.

Once the mysterious wellsprings were explored, they were discovered to be pieces of bigger, half-done projects forgotten, or perhaps abandoned an untold time ago. Others with stronger, broader signals had turned out to be uncorrupted guardians; Buried far enough under the soil, and thus unaffected by the hundred-year plague. He had remembered all of that.

What comes to his mind is that he was too, when Zelda was informed. Right by her side as he had always tried to be. Even if it inevitably hurt him in the long run. 

"The strongest source is coming from somewhere deep within the Gerudo Highlands, your Majesty," The royal guard told her. He felt bad for not knowing his face. Much less his name. Especially when the Queen could pull anyone from the crowd, gracefully as always. It made him yearn to know them, yet his stoic expression spoke nothing of it.

"Then we'll see to that first," Came her conclusion. "We've taken enough care to make an example to the others. I'm sure the Gerudo people are more than capable of handling smaller affairs in their lands, just as anyone else is."

"Yes, your Majesty."

When the decision was set forth, the question of whom to send was aired. There was only one choice. The Queen had made up her mind to send her most trusted warrior, alone to explore something supposedly bigger than the old wardens. That trusted warrior was him.

With the Great Hero of Time's knowledge of the Sheikah slate, combined with his one of a kind strength, there was no one more perfect than Link. He held the queen’s trust within his hands.

"I believe in you," she had said, a hand on his shoulder. "You've never let me down before. I wouldn't expect you to start now."

In the present, the hero found himself in the snow, the wind knocked out of him; Her words echoing through his mind. 

The air in his lungs had forcefully been expelled, his back pressed the ground; Creating a brief, swirling puff to signify that it had left. This was not going as planned. Unable to make himself move - much less lift his head - his chest felt like a collapsed cave. He stared at the glimpses of light that showed through the clouds, His mysterious attacker moving ever closer.

Link hadn't even seen who, or what hit him. His mind raced as he tried to figure it out. The footfall was much too quiet to be any normal monster. Too practised. Too careful. He ruled out any Yiga clan members, even if he knew they claimed hideout within this region. Over the years they had never changed: always announcing their presence before the attack. Though who else would attack Link? He thought he was a beloved hero of the lands. Everywhere he went he was greeted kindly.

The steadily approaching steps were light on the snow-covered sands. His sheikah slate was beeping wild with each footstep. Was it this stranger that was causing the potent energy, which radiated beneath them? It wouldn't be impossible. Hateno village was known to emit signals whenever the ancient tech lab was in use.

Before the hero knew it, a shadow had blocked his view of the sky. As the shadow came over him, so did the figure of a man. The man's face was partly covered with a familiar, dark blue cloth, one Link had worn before. It was a Sheikah stealth outfit. No doubt about it. What little face he could see sent his mind racing. The pale, baggy features of two eyes made him think Zora, but they couldn't be. With the lack of head fins, he determined them not. The equally pale hair spoke that they were not Gerudodian. It was simple to rule out. An odd-looking Hylian? Possibly. In all his travels, he'd managed to meet many unique faces.

With ragged wheezes, the hero tried to lift himself from the cold ground. Where he expected help, he found the stranger’s foot forcing him back down.

Link certainly didn't remember such memorable features. He's sure he would have recalled a Sheikah warrior. Unlike the Hylian royal guards, they seemed to carry themselves differently from one another. There wasn't a way they would all blend if standing side-by-side. Although the hero is firm in his memory or lack thereof, words fell from the other's lips suggesting this was not their first tango.

"We meet again, sky child," The masked stranger hummed, with an airing of both triumph and disgust, "You always seem to get in my way, don't you?"


	2. Rigormortis

"What?" He managed a wheeze, seemingly hours passing between the two. Link had regained his breath, but not the strength to fight. He's not the strongest here, he’s sure. Not surprising against a Sheikah warrior.

They stop, tilting their head once the question is aired. The question throws them off. The stranger leans in closer, getting a better look at the blonde's features. Their foot remains firmly on his chest, showing no signs of movement.

"You are the hero of time, known as Link, yes?" They questioned. Their words came off like a hiss, a viper’s venom dipping down and onto the blonde below. Or maybe that’s the cold, nipping at his skin.

Link looks to either side of him, processing the question. He is the hero of time, isn't he? For a few moments, they watch each movement of Link’s head, his blonde locks coated with frost. The sight captures his attention, but the presence above him catches his eye. After a dreaded long time - his gaze is cast upwards.

"Well?" 

Link nods curtly. 

Their eyes narrow at the Hylian. Brief, boiling emotions build up behind his dark eyes. Impatience? Malcontentment? No, there was something hurt, and angry. 

"Then what do you mean 'what'?! Has it been long enough that you've forgotten our charades? Or maybe I was never important enough to remember. Just another beetle under your ever-changing blade," They spat through clenched teeth, "You hardly look old enough for that first option. When you thwarted my plans to bring back my master, the Great Demise, using your pathetic friend's soul; Do you not remember that too, sky child? Not to mention everything before that! It was days if not weeks of hard work. I can imagine it wasn't the easiest of things for you either. I'll admit that you've always been a skilled warrior, but you could never react quick enough. Why I might have lent you a hand if we were not enemies in those times."

For a moment, the foot is lifted from Link’s chest. Though soon he finds himself lifted from the cold ground, his shirt balled in the stranger’s hand. He’s lifted to eye level, high from his normal height.

"I remember our first time meeting, in that pitiful overgrown temple. What was it… Skyview temple?" They stared silently, looking over the hero's face, searching. What did they want? A response? An answer? Link doesn't have either. "The battle next to the gates lead to the Skyview Springs! Don't tell me you forgot the very end of it all when a statue of your Goddess dropped from the sky, crushing my master, and turning him into nothing but compressed darkness. What a great effort that was, honestly, but did you think you could forget me? After all the fun we had? After destiny made us meet?" Their other fist is balled at their side and their voice is rasped with emotion.

There's a lot to process. Link finds his mind drifting, hoping from subjects as the stranger spoke. Enemies with a Sheikah warrior? A fallen Goddess statue? It's too much for him to think of. In the moment he focuses on one thing: Demise. He heard that name once, but where? It resonates with him, echoing deep within. Link thinks long before it comes to him.

When it clicks, his eyes widen with realization. His thoughts turned into words, which tumbled faster than his thoughts: "I'm not the hero you're thinking of!" 

He had heard of them, the heroes that came generations before him. Heroes that would wield the blade that sealed the darkness and save Hyrule. He'd seen their stories, hanging tapestries and books that were years beyond him; With lovingly worn spines and faded letters. He was barred from ever touching them, but that never stopped him when no one was looking.

Their rant ceased with Link’s exclamation That's this answer After all of this? A grimacing smile forms behind the navy fabric masking their lower features.

With the quiet, the world around them seems much louder than before. The whispering winds raise themselves to a scream, desperate to be heard. Even the melting snow, which kissing his skin, burned horribly. It was too much.

He thought the feeling of shifting fabric was another trick to his senses, yet he was proven wrong. The stranger, wordless as they were before, dropped Link and walked away.

Link sat there, stunned to silence. He thinks, finally. A moment to ponder on his words. He had made enemies with a Sheikah in another life. Another life where they were personal. How old would that make them? Demise has been long gone, even if his curse lingers on the land. Back then, people lived in the sky. That was the first documentation of a hero as well. What age would one be to have lived all those years ago? He's sure no species can live as long. Not Zora nor Goron. He thinks back to those pointed ears and the heavy diamonds hanging from them. Fingers trace across his gem-studded ears. Diamonds much like his own…

Link felt bad before for not remembering current events but now he felt worse for not knowing of things in past lives. His new found ignorance of the past stung fresh in his sore heart. He wants to lay in the snow once more, but he knows he should get moving back to Hyrule. His fingers are already getting cold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at me go, I'm figuring stuff out!!

**Author's Note:**

> I put writing this off for months. Also hello Scream!! Wouldn't have done this with you.


End file.
